Weekly pocket money and expected chores for a nearly 16-year-old son?

[ZaZaBa]

What’s the going weekly rate for pocket money for a nearly 16 year old son.
What is expected of them to earn this amount and what do they generally use it for?

My son atm just gets money from us ( within reason) when he needs stuff and when he goes out, however has no concept of the value of money and just realised he is quite privileged and just demands stuff all the time( I know this is our fault and want to change this)

He doesn’t do any chores and just seems to think he doesn’t need to. I explain we are all living in same family and he needs to help out . And tht often we have to do stuff we don’t feel like doing- fact of life. He will then stack a dishwasher once and thinks he should get £5 for this which obviously we refuse

Daily arguments atm about how his friends get treated soooo much better than him, have more stuff etc but he never goes without anything. Every meal time seems to end in an argument.

Maybe give him a very basic amount of money regardless, and let him top it up with chores. However some things are basic that he does because he’s part of the household, not for money, like putting his plates in the dishwasher etc.

Ours get £20 a week and have to pay for their phones out of that. We buy basic clothes and toiletries for them but they buy anything they want that is fancy, meals out with friends, gifts for other people out of their allowance. They both have part time jobs, but these stop in exam years.

Oh and they don’t have ‘chores’ as such, but they help out a lot - mow the lawn, help look after the grandparents (chat to them etc, help them with their online banking), one of them loves cooking so cooks for all of us a few times a week, they load the dishwasher after dinner and the older two do their own washing and keep their rooms tidy. There is no ‘payment for chores’, it’s just part of what we all do as a family.

Ten years ago my dds got £10 pw and did a job each per week- one changed beds other emptied bins, plus each emptied dishwasher one night and cooked one night. They were responsible for their own laundry, room and shared bathroom.

My 16 year old gets £10 a week and works part time. I don’t give her any other money but do pay for her phone and gym membership. Chores are a battle!

DS doesn't get a set amount. He is 17.
Gets his lunches when at college, season ticket, phone contract, driving lessons nd usually a bit of money on a weekend for socialising with his friends which mounts up.

He is applying for PT jobs and is going into the second year of college.

However, DH works away so DS looks after his younger brother so I can go to the gym during week or collects him from school on days he finishes college before I get home from work.

He also doesn't have set chores but his bedroom is kept immaculate, bed made or stripped and remade, he will wash dishes and put away, hoovers round, bring washing in, generally just helps keep on top of things particularly when he is off and I am at work.

Mine only got £5 per week but we pretty much bought everything for them

DD is almost 16 and gets the child benefit as pocket money. She has no set chores but cleans up after herself.

DS has a part time job washing dishes at a local restaurant. No pocket money, is expected to help around the house but we have a cleaner so isn’t doing what I had to do at that age!! We buy everything but have limits e.g £xx for trainers, anything above that he transfers the money.

A neighbour of ours (grandmother in her 60's, we have little to do with her as she blanked me once and talks to us through her husband. Her husband is better) buys premium bonds for her grandchildren and they keep any winnings.

Set the expectation that picking up after yourself and contributing to a fair share of household tasks is expected of every family member... your future DIL/ any future housemates of your DS will thank you for this!

The downside of 'paying' him to do the basics is that it teaches him to expect a reward for doing household chores... and the world has enough men that want a medal just for running the hoover round (and only do it if they're asked)

Perhaps a conversation along the lines of 'now you are a young adult it's appropriate that you have more responsibilities and more financial independence, what do you think that might look like?'

When my DS was 16 (2 years ago) he got £20 per week pocket money. We asked him to contribute to domestic chores, so he took on his own laundry , one bathroom and halls and stairs cleaning. But I didn’t want his pocket money to be seen as payment. Other jobs he could earn more like £5 for lawn mowing or one hour dog walk. £10 to babysit his younger sibling. His money all went on socialising which I felt was how it should be at 16.

When I was a kid my mother put a list of chores on the cupboard door and a price for each one. To get my full allowance I had to do all the chores. There was no "free" money. My mothers point of view was that I was a guest in their house and I did my bit. There was a lot of latitude for my sister because she was seven years younger.

From the time I began full time work at 16 I had to pay !board" to my parents. However they never knew how much I earned because I was paid by bank transfer.
Im a great believer in making children pay their way and make a contribution. If I was a millionaire I would still give my children the opportunity to earn rather than give them things. It builds character.

I expect teen foster son to do recycling. So sort out paper/card into cube, plastic and tins into bag and take to recycle bin at back of house every other day. He also feeds cats/dogs once a day and walks dogs 3-4 times a week. He will also vacuum his room once a week. Other teen foster son also feeds cats/dogs once a day. Vacuumes his room once a week and large rug in sitting room every day. Both will clear table taking dirty dishes out to kitchen. Both expected to bring down their laundry 2 or 3 times a week and strip off their bedding for washing each week. 17 and 18 year old gets £20 a week pocket money plus £20 on lunch card. Gym membership paid for him and football training. If one of them occasionally decides to unload dishwasher without being asked it's generally because they either want something or they have done something they know they shouldn't have. They do sometimes make me a lot of tea or a coffee.

mine get £5 per year of age per month.
we pay for their phones, they have bus passes, we buy clothes (designer stuff is usually birthday or Xmas presents) they get lunch card topped up by about £20 a month (but take almost a full packed lunch with them every day) they have gym membership we pay for and if they go out with mates to cinema / into town I’ll chuck them £20.

the expectation is they keep their room clean and tidy (we have a cleaner) but I’ll ask for help with gardening or ask him to do the occasional floor mop in between times if they look muddy.

He washes the car maybe monthly inside and out, they take turns on dishwasher emptying. I’m teaching him to cook and use the washing machine.
older DC can now cook and use the washing machine and stack the dishwasher - they are learning to iron now …

neither have jobs - they are both good kids. I would like them to earn but that will come and when it does I’ll keep giving them the same money as they should not be punished for earning wages!

Erm age ranges from 3 -17 and every single one brought up to all dive on from making beds, hanging washing out or putting it in, emptying bins, cutting grass, cooking meals, cleaning cars etc etc a happy family is everyone helping with everything without even needing to ask...some of mine and dh best chats and moments with our now teens is still car washing and gardening and hanging washing while having a joke or serious chat

There are some very generous parents on here. I worked from 14 as pocket money wasn’t really a thing in our house.

DD had a pt job, studied a lot and played sports, which meant she didn't have a lot of spare, and as a result I never gave her a list of chores. We didn't have a dishwasher, so she would dry the dishes, and she was responsible for her own laundry (and we didn't have a dryer), and bedding.

Pocket money was 10 quid a week (over a decade ago) but she earnt a few pennies from her PT job, and had a bigger disposable income than me!